Commercial Aviation Safety Team Safety Enhancements, 5500-5502 [05-1915]
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5500
Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
Information and Regulatory Affairs at
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), who may be reached on 202–
395–7860. You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• E-mail: ahunt@omb.eop.gov. You
must include the DS form number (if
applicable), information collection title,
and OMB control number in the subject
line of your message.
• Hand Delivery or Courier: OIRA,
Department of State Desk Officer, Office
of Management and Budget, 725 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503
• Fax: 202–395–6974
You
may obtain copies of the proposed
information collection and supporting
documents from Patricia Culbreth, A/
SDBU, SA–6, Rm. L–500, Washington
DC, 20522, who may be reached on 703–
875–6881. E-mail, culbrethpb@state.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
We are
soliciting public comments to permit
the Department to:
• Evaluate whether the proposed
information collection is necessary to
properly perform our functions.
• Evaluate the accuracy of our
estimate of the burden of the proposed
collection, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected.
• Minimize the reporting burden on
those who are to respond, including the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of technology.
Abstract of proposed collection:
This information collection facilitates
´ ´
implementation of a mentor-protege
program that encourages business
agreements between small and large forprofit companies planning to team
´ ´
together in an official mentor-protege
capacity to improve the likelihood of
winning DOS contracts. Such a program
should assist the State Department
OSDBU office in reaching its small
business goals.
Methodology:
Respondents may submit the
information by e-mail using DS–4053, or
by letter using fax or postal mail.
Additional Information: None.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Dated: November 23, 2004.
Durie N. White,
Operations Director, Bureau of
Administration, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 05–1929 Filed 2–1–05; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice 4986]
Determination and Waiver of Section
592 of the Foreign Operations, Export
Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, 2005 (Division D,
Public Law 108–447), Relating to
Compliance With the Algiers
Agreements
Pursuant to the authority vested in me
by section 592 of the Foreign
Operations, Export Financing, and
Related Programs Appropriations Act,
2005 (Division D, Pub. L. 108–447), I
hereby determine that it is in the
national security interests of the United
States to waive the requirements of this
section as they pertain to the central
Governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia.
This determination shall be notified
to the Congress and published in the
Federal Register.
Dated: January 24, 2005.
Colin L. Powell,
Secretary of State, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 05–1928 Filed 2–1–05; 8:45 am]
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OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
Identification of Countries Under
Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974:
Extension of Deadline for Public
Comment on Out-of-Cycle Review of
the People’s Republic of China
Office of the United States
Trade Representative.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: This notice extends by two
weeks the deadline for the submission
of comments in the Out-of-Cycle Review
(OCR) of the People’s Republic of China
(China) under section 182 of the Trade
Act of 1974 (Trade Act) (19 U.S.C.
2242), commonly referred to as the
‘‘Special 301’’ provision of the Trade
Act.
DATES: Submissions must be received on
or before 5 p.m. on Monday, February
14, 2005.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be
addressed to Sybia Harrison, Special
Assistant to the Section 301 Committee,
and sent (i) electronically, to
FR0446@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘Special 301
Out-of-Cycle Review’’ in the subject
line, or (ii) by fax, to (202) 395–9458,
with a confirmation copy sent
electronically to the e-mail address
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ronald Meyers, Director of Intellectual
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Property and China, at (202) 395–9549,
Angela Davis, Director of China Affairs,
at (202) 395–3900, or Stanford McCoy,
Assistant General Counsel, at (202) 395–
3581, Office of the United States Trade
Representative.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 3,
2004, the Office of the United States
Trade Representative (USTR)
announced the results of the 2004
Special 301 review and stated that an
OCR would be conducted in early 2005
to assess China’s actions to implement
effectively the commitments it
undertook under the Joint Commission
on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), its
WTO commitments, and a 1995 bilateral
intellectual property agreement with the
United States (including additional
commitments made in 1996). On
December 14, 2004, USTR requested
written comments from the public
concerning the acts, policies, and
practices relevant for this review under
section 182 of the Trade Act (69 FR
74561). The original deadline for
submissions was Monday, January 31,
2005. In order to afford members of the
public the fullest possible opportunity
to respond to this request, USTR is
extending the deadline for submissions
by two weeks, to Monday, February 14,
2005. For details concerning the
information requested and requirements
for comments, respondents are asked to
refer to the USTR request for written
submissions from the public published
in the Federal Register on December 14,
2004 (69 FR 74561).
James Mendenhall,
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
Services, Investment, and Intellectual
Property.
[FR Doc. 05–1883 Filed 2–1–05; 8:45 am]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA–2004–19400]
Commercial Aviation Safety Team
Safety Enhancements
Federal Aviation
Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of order designating
information as protected from
disclosure.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) is designating
information provided to the agency from
approved voluntary compliance with
safety enhancements recommended by
the Commercial Aviation Safety Team
(CAST) as protected from public
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
disclosure in accordance with the
provisions of 14 CFR part 193. Under 49
U.S.C. 40123, the FAA is required to
protect the information from disclosure
to the public, including disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act
(5 U.S.C. 552) or other laws. The
designation is intended to encourage
sharing of information between the FAA
and operators implementing the CAST
safety enhancements.
DATES: Effective February 2, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Margaret Gilligan, Deputy Associate
Administrator, Regulation and Safety,
Federal Aviation Administration, 800
Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202)
267–7804.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of This Designation Order
You can get an electronic copy using
the Internet by:
(1) Searching the Department of
Transportation’s electronic Docket
Management System (DMS) Web page
(https://dms.dot.gov/search);
(2) Visiting the Office of Rulemakings’
Web page at https://www.faa.gov/avr/
arm/index.cfm; or
(3) Accessing the Government
Printing Office’s Web page at https://
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.
You can also get a copy by submitting
a request to the Federal Aviation
Administration, Office of Rulemaking,
ARM–1, 800 Independence Ave., SW.,
Washington, DC 20591, or by calling
(202–267–9680. Be sure to identify the
docket number of this order.
Anyone is able to search the
electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the
name of the individual submitting the
comment (or signing the comment, if
submitted on behalf of an association,
business, labor union, etc.) You may
review DOT’s complete Privacy Act
statement in the Federal Register
published on April 11, 2000 (65 FR
19477–19478) or you may visit https://
dms.dot.gov.
Background
Under 49 U.S.C. 40123, certain
voluntarily provided safety information
is protected from disclosure in order to
encourage persons to provide the
information to the FAA. The FAA must
first issue an order specifying why the
agency finds that the information
should be protected in accordance with
that section. The FAA’s rules for
implementing that section are in 14 CFR
part 193. If the Administrator issues an
order designating information as
protected under section 40123, that
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information will not be disclosed under
the Freedom of Information Act (5
U.S.C. 552) or other laws except as
provided in section 40123, part 193, and
the order designating the information as
protected. This FAA order to protect
CAST information from disclosure is
issued under 14 CFR 193.11, which sets
out the notice procedure for designating
information as protected.
A notice of proposed order
designating CAST information as
protected from disclosure was
published in the Federal Register on
October 26, 2004 (69 FR 62503). The
FAA received three comments in
response to the notice. See ‘‘Summary of
Comments Received and the FAA’s
Responses’’ below.
Applicability
This order is applicable to any FAA
office that receives information covered
under this designation from a CAST
member. This order is also applicable to
any other government agency that
receives such information from the
FAA. In order for any other government
agency to receive CAST information
protected from disclosure under this
designation from the FAA, an agency
must first stipulate, in writing, that it
will abide by the provision of 14 CFR
part 193 and this order.
Description of the Safety Information
To Be Protected
In December 1997, the National Civil
Aviation Review Commission
recommended that all elements of the
civil aviation community join together
to establish an integrated safety agenda
that would continue to drive down the
fatal accident rate for commercial
aviation. To respond to this
recommendation, the aviation
community created the Commercial
Aviation Safety Team (CAST). CAST is
a voluntary organization made up of
government agencies, air operators,
manufacturers and aviation labor
organizations dedicated to reducing the
commercial aviation accident rate by
80% by 2007. The team’s work has
centered on the analysis of past
accidents in particular categories. Based
on the analysis, CAST identifies safety
enhancements, which, if implemented,
will reduce the risk of these types of
accidents happening in the future. Its
focus in the future will be on incident/
precursor data to mitigate risks prior to
fatal mishaps.
The safety enhancements may call for
action by government agencies
manufacturers, operators, or aircrew.
CAST has identified 47 safety
enhancements in its current plan, and
future safety enhancements included in
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later revisions to the CAST plan, which
CAST members have agreed to
implement. Because implementation is
voluntary, and may be different at
various operators or manufacturers,
CAST members agree that it is
important to collect information to
evaluate the level of implementation.
This information will be invaluable to
measuring CAST’s effectiveness in
reducing the fatal accident rate and
reducing future risk in civil aviation.
Summary of the Protected Safety
Information
A. Who may participate? Air
operators, crewmembers and
manufacturers who are targeted to
implement safety enhancements
recommended by CAST.
B. What voluntarily provided
information will be protected from
disclosure under this designation?
1. All information related to whether
an operator, crewmember, or
manufacturer has implemented a safety
enhancement recommended by CAST
that is reported to an FAA inspector or
other FAA representative.
2. All information related to the level
of implementation, the methods used to
implement and the results of
implementation provided by an
operator, crewmember or manufacturer
to an FAA inspector or other FAA
representation.
3. All information related to whether
an operator, crewmember or
manufacturer has implemented a safety
enhancement recommended by CAST
that is reported to the FAA by a CAST
member organization.
4. All information related to the level
of implementation by an operator,
crewmember or manufacturer reported
to the FAA by a CAST member
organization.
5. Reports prepared by the FAA, any
CAST member organization, or any team
or workgroup established by or
associated with CAST that is based on
information related to the
implementation of safety enhancements.
6. Any database containing
information related to the
implementation of safety enhancements
and/or the effectiveness of these safety
enhancements in eliminating or
mitigating the underlying safety hazard.
7. All information related to changing
risk, emerging threats, or accident
precursors. Incident data (e.g., FOQA
and ASAP) used as a diagnostic tool
will be included.
C. How can persons participate? An
operator, crewmember or manufacturer
can participate by voluntarily providing
data related to implementation of safety
enhancements to an FAA inspector, to
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Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 2, 2005 / Notices
another FAA representative or to CAST
through a CAST member organization.
D. What is the duration of this
protection? Information related to
implementation of safety enhancements
recommended by CAST will be
protected indefinitely.
Summary of Findings
The FAA designates information
received from operators and
manufacturers related to
implementation of CAST safety
enhancements as protected under 49
U.S.C. 40123 and 14 CFR 193.7 based on
the following findings:
1. Summary of why FAA finds that
the information will be provided
voluntarily—The very essence of CAST
is voluntary participation. Those who
are members of CAST, who take part in
the accident analysis, determine the
feasibility of safety enhancements, and
agree to implement the enhancements
do so voluntarily. The key to CAST
success now rests on understanding the
level and effectiveness of
implementation. Operators,
crewmembers and manufacturers who
have taken part in the program
voluntarily to this point can be expected
to provide information voluntarily to
support achieving a shared goal of
improving safety.
2. Description of the type of
information that may be voluntarily
provided under the program and why
FAA finds that the information is safetyrelated—CAST participants will provide
information as to safety enhancements
implemented, the method of
implementation, the process to evaluate
the implementation and any other
information, such as best practices
related to the implementation of safety
enhancements. The FAA finds this
information is safety-related because it
will aid in measuring whether the safety
goal—reducing the commercial fatal
accident rates by 80% by 2007—is being
achieved.
3. Summary of why the FAA finds
that the disclosure of the information
would inhibit persons from voluntarily
providing that type of information—
Because the safety enhancements are
not required by regulation, operators,
crewmembers and manufacturers have
wide discretion when they implement
them. Industry is concerned that if
disclosed, there is the potential for the
information to be used for purposes
other than improving aviation safety,
which was the primary reason for
establishing CAST. Withholding such
information from disclosures is
consistent with FAA’s safety
responsibilities because without
information on implementation of the
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safety enhancements, the FAA and
CAST will not be able to determine the
effectiveness of safety enhancements. If
the FAA and CAST do not receive the
information, the FAA and the public
will be deprived of the opportunity to
determine whether the safety goal can
be reached.
4. Summary of why receiving the
information aids in fulfilling the FAA’s
safety responsibilities—With this
information, the FAA and industry will
be able to determine whether the safety
enhancements are effective. If the data
suggests the goal to reduce the fatal
accident rate will not be achieved,
additional safety enhancements could
be identified and implemented.
5. Summary of why withholding the
information from disclosure is
consistent with FAA safety
responsibilities—Withholding the
information from disclosure is
consistent with FAA safety
responsibilities because, to reach the
FAA’s safety goal, the FAA must be able
to evaluate the implementation and
effectiveness of safety enhancements
identified through CAST.
6. Summary of when withholding the
information from disclosure would not
be consistent with FAA safety
responsibilities as described in 14 CFR
193.9—The FAA will release
information, as set forth in part 193, to
explain the need for changes in FAA
policies, procedures and regulations.
The FAA may release de-identified,
summarized information derived from
information reported about
implementation of the CAST safety
enhancements. When necessary to
correct a condition that may
compromise safety, or to encourage
more complete and timely
implementation of safety enhancements,
the FAA may release information to the
members of CAST. The FAA will give
information to CAST members who are
government agencies only if each
agency meets the requirements 14 CFR
193.7(e). The FAA will give information
to CAST members that are not
government agencies only if each
member provides adequate assurance
that it will protect the information from
further release and it will limit access to
those with a need to know to carry out
safety responsibilities.
7. Summary of how the FAA will
distinguish information protected under
part 193 from information the FAA
receives from other sources—Operators,
crewmembers and manufacturers will
provide information related to the
implementation of CAST safety
enhancements directly to the FAA
inspectors or other FAA employees
designated to receive such information.
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
In this way, the information protected
under this order will be easily identified
and distinguished from other
information the FAA receives from
other sources.
Summary of Comments Received and
the FAA’s Response
A proposed FAA order designating
CAST information as protected from
disclosure under part 193 was
published on October 26, 2004 in the
Federal Register (69 FR 62503). The
FAA received three comments in
response to the proposed order.
Comment: One commenter suggested
that CAST had completed its work and
the order was not necessary.
FAA Response: CAST has not
completed its work. In fact, the
members of CAST have committed to a
goal that will maintain a continuous
reduction in the fatality risk in the
United States and international
commercial aviation beyond 2007. The
future vision of CAST is: Key aviation
stakeholders acting cooperatively to
lead the worldwide aviation community
to the highest levels of global
commercial aviation safety by focusing
on the right things.
Comment: Two commenters
supported the order. One commenter
from industry stated, ‘‘Absent clear
protection, some carriers may choose
not to participate in CAST’’. * * * Such
a result would clearly contradict the
public interest.’’ The commenter urged
the FAA to issue a final order.
The other commenter, also from
industry, while supporting the order,
suggested several minor changes
regarding the definition of eligible
participants and the nature of the
protected information. The FAA has
made those editorial changes.
Designation
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation
Administration hereby designates the
above-described information submitted
to demonstrate implementation of CAST
safety enhancements to be protected
under 49 U.S.C. 40123 and 14 CFR part
193.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 26,
2005.
Nicholas A. Sabatini,
Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety.
[FR Doc. 05–1915 Filed 2–1–05; 8:45 am]
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5500-5502]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-1915]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
[Docket No. FAA-2004-19400]
Commercial Aviation Safety Team Safety Enhancements
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration, DOT.
ACTION: Notice of order designating information as protected from
disclosure.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is designating
information provided to the agency from approved voluntary compliance
with safety enhancements recommended by the Commercial Aviation Safety
Team (CAST) as protected from public
[[Page 5501]]
disclosure in accordance with the provisions of 14 CFR part 193. Under
49 U.S.C. 40123, the FAA is required to protect the information from
disclosure to the public, including disclosure under the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or other laws. The designation is
intended to encourage sharing of information between the FAA and
operators implementing the CAST safety enhancements.
DATES: Effective February 2, 2005.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Gilligan, Deputy Associate
Administrator, Regulation and Safety, Federal Aviation Administration,
800 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20591; telephone (202) 267-
7804.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Availability of This Designation Order
You can get an electronic copy using the Internet by:
(1) Searching the Department of Transportation's electronic Docket
Management System (DMS) Web page (https://dms.dot.gov/search);
(2) Visiting the Office of Rulemakings' Web page at https://
www.faa.gov/avr/arm/index.cfm; or
(3) Accessing the Government Printing Office's Web page at https://
www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/.
You can also get a copy by submitting a request to the Federal
Aviation Administration, Office of Rulemaking, ARM-1, 800 Independence
Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20591, or by calling (202-267-9680. Be sure
to identify the docket number of this order.
Anyone is able to search the electronic form of all comments
received into any of our dockets by the name of the individual
submitting the comment (or signing the comment, if submitted on behalf
of an association, business, labor union, etc.) You may review DOT's
complete Privacy Act statement in the Federal Register published on
April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477-19478) or you may visit https://dms.dot.gov.
Background
Under 49 U.S.C. 40123, certain voluntarily provided safety
information is protected from disclosure in order to encourage persons
to provide the information to the FAA. The FAA must first issue an
order specifying why the agency finds that the information should be
protected in accordance with that section. The FAA's rules for
implementing that section are in 14 CFR part 193. If the Administrator
issues an order designating information as protected under section
40123, that information will not be disclosed under the Freedom of
Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552) or other laws except as provided in
section 40123, part 193, and the order designating the information as
protected. This FAA order to protect CAST information from disclosure
is issued under 14 CFR 193.11, which sets out the notice procedure for
designating information as protected.
A notice of proposed order designating CAST information as
protected from disclosure was published in the Federal Register on
October 26, 2004 (69 FR 62503). The FAA received three comments in
response to the notice. See ``Summary of Comments Received and the
FAA's Responses'' below.
Applicability
This order is applicable to any FAA office that receives
information covered under this designation from a CAST member. This
order is also applicable to any other government agency that receives
such information from the FAA. In order for any other government agency
to receive CAST information protected from disclosure under this
designation from the FAA, an agency must first stipulate, in writing,
that it will abide by the provision of 14 CFR part 193 and this order.
Description of the Safety Information To Be Protected
In December 1997, the National Civil Aviation Review Commission
recommended that all elements of the civil aviation community join
together to establish an integrated safety agenda that would continue
to drive down the fatal accident rate for commercial aviation. To
respond to this recommendation, the aviation community created the
Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST). CAST is a voluntary
organization made up of government agencies, air operators,
manufacturers and aviation labor organizations dedicated to reducing
the commercial aviation accident rate by 80% by 2007. The team's work
has centered on the analysis of past accidents in particular
categories. Based on the analysis, CAST identifies safety enhancements,
which, if implemented, will reduce the risk of these types of accidents
happening in the future. Its focus in the future will be on incident/
precursor data to mitigate risks prior to fatal mishaps.
The safety enhancements may call for action by government agencies
manufacturers, operators, or aircrew.
CAST has identified 47 safety enhancements in its current plan, and
future safety enhancements included in later revisions to the CAST
plan, which CAST members have agreed to implement. Because
implementation is voluntary, and may be different at various operators
or manufacturers, CAST members agree that it is important to collect
information to evaluate the level of implementation. This information
will be invaluable to measuring CAST's effectiveness in reducing the
fatal accident rate and reducing future risk in civil aviation.
Summary of the Protected Safety Information
A. Who may participate? Air operators, crewmembers and
manufacturers who are targeted to implement safety enhancements
recommended by CAST.
B. What voluntarily provided information will be protected from
disclosure under this designation?
1. All information related to whether an operator, crewmember, or
manufacturer has implemented a safety enhancement recommended by CAST
that is reported to an FAA inspector or other FAA representative.
2. All information related to the level of implementation, the
methods used to implement and the results of implementation provided by
an operator, crewmember or manufacturer to an FAA inspector or other
FAA representation.
3. All information related to whether an operator, crewmember or
manufacturer has implemented a safety enhancement recommended by CAST
that is reported to the FAA by a CAST member organization.
4. All information related to the level of implementation by an
operator, crewmember or manufacturer reported to the FAA by a CAST
member organization.
5. Reports prepared by the FAA, any CAST member organization, or
any team or workgroup established by or associated with CAST that is
based on information related to the implementation of safety
enhancements.
6. Any database containing information related to the
implementation of safety enhancements and/or the effectiveness of these
safety enhancements in eliminating or mitigating the underlying safety
hazard.
7. All information related to changing risk, emerging threats, or
accident precursors. Incident data (e.g., FOQA and ASAP) used as a
diagnostic tool will be included.
C. How can persons participate? An operator, crewmember or
manufacturer can participate by voluntarily providing data related to
implementation of safety enhancements to an FAA inspector, to
[[Page 5502]]
another FAA representative or to CAST through a CAST member
organization.
D. What is the duration of this protection? Information related to
implementation of safety enhancements recommended by CAST will be
protected indefinitely.
Summary of Findings
The FAA designates information received from operators and
manufacturers related to implementation of CAST safety enhancements as
protected under 49 U.S.C. 40123 and 14 CFR 193.7 based on the following
findings:
1. Summary of why FAA finds that the information will be provided
voluntarily--The very essence of CAST is voluntary participation. Those
who are members of CAST, who take part in the accident analysis,
determine the feasibility of safety enhancements, and agree to
implement the enhancements do so voluntarily. The key to CAST success
now rests on understanding the level and effectiveness of
implementation. Operators, crewmembers and manufacturers who have taken
part in the program voluntarily to this point can be expected to
provide information voluntarily to support achieving a shared goal of
improving safety.
2. Description of the type of information that may be voluntarily
provided under the program and why FAA finds that the information is
safety-related--CAST participants will provide information as to safety
enhancements implemented, the method of implementation, the process to
evaluate the implementation and any other information, such as best
practices related to the implementation of safety enhancements. The FAA
finds this information is safety-related because it will aid in
measuring whether the safety goal--reducing the commercial fatal
accident rates by 80% by 2007--is being achieved.
3. Summary of why the FAA finds that the disclosure of the
information would inhibit persons from voluntarily providing that type
of information--Because the safety enhancements are not required by
regulation, operators, crewmembers and manufacturers have wide
discretion when they implement them. Industry is concerned that if
disclosed, there is the potential for the information to be used for
purposes other than improving aviation safety, which was the primary
reason for establishing CAST. Withholding such information from
disclosures is consistent with FAA's safety responsibilities because
without information on implementation of the safety enhancements, the
FAA and CAST will not be able to determine the effectiveness of safety
enhancements. If the FAA and CAST do not receive the information, the
FAA and the public will be deprived of the opportunity to determine
whether the safety goal can be reached.
4. Summary of why receiving the information aids in fulfilling the
FAA's safety responsibilities--With this information, the FAA and
industry will be able to determine whether the safety enhancements are
effective. If the data suggests the goal to reduce the fatal accident
rate will not be achieved, additional safety enhancements could be
identified and implemented.
5. Summary of why withholding the information from disclosure is
consistent with FAA safety responsibilities--Withholding the
information from disclosure is consistent with FAA safety
responsibilities because, to reach the FAA's safety goal, the FAA must
be able to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of safety
enhancements identified through CAST.
6. Summary of when withholding the information from disclosure
would not be consistent with FAA safety responsibilities as described
in 14 CFR 193.9--The FAA will release information, as set forth in part
193, to explain the need for changes in FAA policies, procedures and
regulations. The FAA may release de-identified, summarized information
derived from information reported about implementation of the CAST
safety enhancements. When necessary to correct a condition that may
compromise safety, or to encourage more complete and timely
implementation of safety enhancements, the FAA may release information
to the members of CAST. The FAA will give information to CAST members
who are government agencies only if each agency meets the requirements
14 CFR 193.7(e). The FAA will give information to CAST members that are
not government agencies only if each member provides adequate assurance
that it will protect the information from further release and it will
limit access to those with a need to know to carry out safety
responsibilities.
7. Summary of how the FAA will distinguish information protected
under part 193 from information the FAA receives from other sources--
Operators, crewmembers and manufacturers will provide information
related to the implementation of CAST safety enhancements directly to
the FAA inspectors or other FAA employees designated to receive such
information. In this way, the information protected under this order
will be easily identified and distinguished from other information the
FAA receives from other sources.
Summary of Comments Received and the FAA's Response
A proposed FAA order designating CAST information as protected from
disclosure under part 193 was published on October 26, 2004 in the
Federal Register (69 FR 62503). The FAA received three comments in
response to the proposed order.
Comment: One commenter suggested that CAST had completed its work
and the order was not necessary.
FAA Response: CAST has not completed its work. In fact, the members
of CAST have committed to a goal that will maintain a continuous
reduction in the fatality risk in the United States and international
commercial aviation beyond 2007. The future vision of CAST is: Key
aviation stakeholders acting cooperatively to lead the worldwide
aviation community to the highest levels of global commercial aviation
safety by focusing on the right things.
Comment: Two commenters supported the order. One commenter from
industry stated, ``Absent clear protection, some carriers may choose
not to participate in CAST''. * * * Such a result would clearly
contradict the public interest.'' The commenter urged the FAA to issue
a final order.
The other commenter, also from industry, while supporting the
order, suggested several minor changes regarding the definition of
eligible participants and the nature of the protected information. The
FAA has made those editorial changes.
Designation
Accordingly, the Federal Aviation Administration hereby designates
the above-described information submitted to demonstrate implementation
of CAST safety enhancements to be protected under 49 U.S.C. 40123 and
14 CFR part 193.
Issued in Washington, DC, on January 26, 2005.
Nicholas A. Sabatini,
Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety.
[FR Doc. 05-1915 Filed 2-1-05; 8:45 am]
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